Method of producing and binding display books



METHOD OF PRODUCING AND BINDING DISPLAY BOOKS Filed Dec. 8, 1952 L. E. PITNER June 28, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Q. u g

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United States Patent or A 2,942,283 Patented June 28, 1960 METHOD PRODUCING AND BINDING DISPLAY BOOKS Lloyd E. Pitner, Milwaukee, John L. Pitner, administrator of Lloyd E. Pitnendeceased Filed Dec 8, 1952, Ser. No. 324,624

r a Claims- 1C]. 11--1 My invention relates to a picture or display book and method of production and binding thereof.

Picture or display books, as those terms are used herein, are those three-dimensional books in which the opening of the covers hingedly, in the usual manner of opening a book, unfolds graphically portrayed subjects on pages? which comprise a stage-like or panoramic View having depth, thedepth being provided by a number of front, intermediate'or background pages, portions of which are. cut away to exhibit portions of more rearwardly positioned pages.

, US. Patent N0. 2,546,878, issued March 27, 1951 to Townley, illustrates a picture book ofthe general type with which my invention is concerned, but my picture book has its pages secured to the marginal surfaces of inside faces of the backgroundpagesor covers rather than to the extreme jfree edges, and one of. my methods of manufactureprovides correct pregumrm'ng and accurate location of the pages and background sheets of my picture book with little requirement for hand labor.

My invention is likewise concerned with a picture or display book; and method for its production wherein a series of scenes, pictures or presentations is bound to the outsidecovers in an ensemble which has a pack-like appearance and the respective scenes are demarked from one another by background pages forming part of leaves which are usually somewhat stiffer than the leaves which complete the scene.- I

One method of my invention comprises the provision of a series of scene packs comprised of preformed cover sheet strips, preformed background sheet strips and preformed and pro-glued page sheet strips, from which, after assembling and processing, the individual picture books may-be separated by die cutting, shear cutting or other suitable severing means. The meaning of the terms fscene packs, ensemble, preforming and pro-gluing will be evident from the following description. t r

In the drawings: v 4

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective'of a background sheet strip, intermediate sheet strip and a proscenium sheet strip illustrated diagrammatically in theirrelationship, with the background sheet strip at the bottom, the intermediate sheet strip immediately thereabove, and the prosceniurn sheet strip at .the top to form a scene pack.

Fig. 2 is a perspective showing components of the scene pack of Fig. 1 in their intimate relationship upon an assembly board having positioning dowels extended through the pack.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the scene pack'of Fig. 2 with the prosceniumsheet strip folded and the intermediate sheet fstrip folded in their proper relationship for inclusion in a scene pack ensemble. t

oven and bonding press suitable for certain types of adhesive bonding of an ensemble.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view transversely of Fig. 2 but omitting the assembly board and its dowels.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view transversely of Fig. 3.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view transversely of Fig. 4 with the addition of fasteners and binding tape, no attempt having been made to show the parts compressed as they would normally be in usual binding.

, Fig. 9 is a plan view of my picture book in partially opened position, the view showing the top edges of the covers, background sheets and pages.

Fig. 10 is a perspective of the book of Fig. 9 wherein the book is shown in fully opened position with its covers face to face so as to expand the scenes to their prope depth relationship.-

Fig. 11 is a view in perspective of an alternative form of assembly board and showing the application of a scene pack thereto, portions of the page sheet strips being rolled back to show the relationship of the scene pack elements to one another on the board.

Fig. 12 is a view similar to Fig. 9 but showing a multi-- scene display made according to some of the method features of my invention but with no" permanent backbone binding. h 7

Fig. 13 is an enlarged detail view showing adhesive binding material which has been squeezed from the sheets Fig. 4 is a scene pack ensemble showing a succession r. .Fig. 5. is adiagrammatic showing in perspective of an and would seal the scenes together but which is to be cut away as waste in the final severing of picture books in Figs. 9 and 10. Covers 16 and 17 are hinged at 18 and 19 respectively immediately adjacent backbone 20 of the book. Bound between the covers 16- and 17 and included in and hinged to the backbone 20 are the background leaves 21, 22, 23 and 24 which are used to demark one scene from another as for instance one side of background leaf 21 demarks a part of the scene between it and the inside of the cover 16, or one side of background leaf 23 and one side of background leaf 24 have page surfaces which provide the background at the extreme depth of the scene which is provided between them. The edge of each of these leaves and covers most remote from the backbone 20 is hereinafter referred to as the free edge 25. The top-edge 26 of each of the leaves corresponds to the top edge of the covers as these covers assume their position with the picture book disposed as in Fig. 10.

Between a particular pair of leaves, as'for instance leaf 22 and leaf 23 (Figs. 9 and 10), a scene is delineated by and portrayed upon a number of pages of paper or suitable picture book making material. There may be any reasonable number of these pages and for the purposes of this description my book is shown with only two, a proscenium page 30 and an intermediate page 31 which may be termed a wing page, this terminology being derived from the theatrical stage and it being understood that many intermediate pages 31 to provide the scenery normally provided in the wings and drops of a stage setting will be provided as needed. 7

Further details of the construction of my book are as follows. Preferably the background leaves 21,22, 23, 24 and covers 16 and 17 are relatively stifi andare usually fiat leaves upon the surfaces of which suitable pictorial or graphic subject matter is delineated. Wing pages 31 with cut-awayopenings' are adhesi'vely secured on the marginal surfaces adjacent the free edges 25 of the background leaves or the inside of the cover. By suitable fold lines 32, the wing page 31 is folded and the lateral extentof the page. is .such that when the leaves 22 and23 are Spread apart as shown in Fig. 10, the wing page 31 will take its position somewhat behind the proscenium page 30 and in front of the background leaves 22 and 23.

, Proscenium page 39 with a cut-away opening frames the stage. It is adhesively bonded to the margins of wing pages 31 adjacent to and along the free e'd'ge25 of the leaves 22 and 23. 'The proscenium page 30 foldsalong scored line 33 when the back is closed. The lateral extent of the proscenium page is somewhat less than that the intermediate or wing page 31 so that at-any divergence of leaves 22 and 23 the proscenium sheet will be stretched to a forward position simulating the appear-v ance of a proscenium framing a stage. 7

The exact length of andextent to which the pages 30 and 31 are centrally cut away depends, of course, to a degree upon the nature of the pictorial delineation which is to be shown upon each of the pages and upon the area of the background leaves or cover leaves which are to be exposed in order to properly portray the scene. j

The number of scenes to be included in one book and the number of wing pages in each scene is a matter of selection and choice, it being understood that the many wing pages behind the prosceniunr page andthe proscenium page in each scene will automatically fold along scored fold lines when the book is'closed. e ,7 I have stated above that the proscenium and intermediate or wing pages are bonded to the margins of under lying pages adjacent the free edge 25 of the background leaves or inside of the cover. Special attention to this feature of my invention is included in the description of my method of production and binding of my picture book. I produce my picture book in scene packs (Figs. 2 and 3) and an ensemble pack, shown in Figs. 4 and 8 where it will be seen that a suitable number of scene packs as described below are superimposed upon one another to provide (with one additional cover sheet strip) an ensemble which when complete is die cut or otherwise divided into a number of individual picture books, for instance sixteen ,picture books as shown, eight on either side of the center line. I

-I have referred to a scene pack. One of these is shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3. -It comprises a cover sheet strip 35 sufiiciently wide to provide (with some stock for trim) sufficient cover material for the back or front covers of sixteen books, or a background sheet strip 76 of the same length and width as the cover sheet strip. Either strip is two books wide with a score or other hinge forming device spaced from the edges along outer side margins to form a hinge part77, the margin extending beyond the hinge becoming a part of the backbone. I assemble one of these sheetstrips, either cover sheet strip 35 or back ground sheet strip 76, 'over dowels 40 and 41 attached to assembly board 42. I assemble over the cover'or background sheet stripan intermediate or wing sheet strip 36. This sheet strip is the same length as, but wider than, the

cover sheet strip 35 or the background sheet strip 76.

applying an adhesive along the longitudinal center lines 50 and 53 (Fig. 1) and the longitiudinal marginsSl, 52, 54, 55 of the wing sheets and prosceniurn'sheets as they are assembled, or, if a heat seal adhesive is used, I tack seal the assembled parts in position'by applyingheat and pressure for about two seconds at selected points along the longitudinal center of the assembly (-Fig. 2) over the preglued center lines.

.. At two spaced points on the center line of each of the sheet strips, there are apertures 38 and 39m receive the erect dowels '40 and 41 of an assembly board 42. Cutouts 17 -8 and 79 are made in each side of each of the strip sheets in register with apertures 38 and. 'These cut outs are the same size and shape as a longitudinal half of the aperture with which it registers. Apertures 38 are circular. Through these the round dowels 49 are snugly received. Apertures 39 are elongated in the direction of the length of the sheet strips and are intended to accurately center the sheet laterally on the board 42. The extra length of apertures 39 permits lengthwise adjustment of the sheet strips without bulging. The registering side cutouts '78 and 79 permit folding the sheet strips so the longitudinal edges come 'in close relationship with each other.

Proscenium'sheet strip 37 is then folded as shown most clearly in Figs. 3 and 7 so that its longitudinal margins are closely abutted along the center line. Then the wing sheet strip 36 is folded to bring its longitudinal side margins into abutment as shown in Figs. 3 and 7 to complete a scene pack (Fig. 3).

The scored fold lines of each of the sheet strips will become the line of permanent fold centrally of each scene and I score these lines when die cutting the openings or by any accepted scoring operation to facilitate a satisfactory fold in the assembly of "the scene pack (Fig. 3) and in the closing of my picture book in its handling by the ultimate user.

As shown in Fig. 4, scene packs 45 as shown and identified in Fig. 3 are assembled in sufiicient number to make up the complete strip of books and are stacked one upon another on the dowels 40 and 41. This completes an ensemble 46 when another cover sheet strip 47 is added at the top of the pile. In this ensemble, five scene packs are used, it being understood that the scene pack at the bottom of the pile in the ensemble ,46 has a cover sheet strip 35 made of material suitable for the exterior covers 16 or 17 of the books, and the back book covers 16 or 17 The strip sheets are printed or lithographed several at a time on large press sheets. The wing sheet strips 36 and proscenium sheet strips 37 are printed on oneside only. The background sheet strips 76 and cover sheet strips 35 and 47 are printed on both sides. Strip sheets 36 and 37 are, in a single operation, die cut from the large sheet, scored for folding and cut for silhouette openings to provide the delineations and graphic portrayals for the completed book. Cover sheet strips 35 and 47 and background sheet strips 76 are also, in a single operation, die cut from the large sheet and scored or otherwise hinged for binding. The cover sheets are in the same operation die cut to provide facilities for holding the book in open position.

The proscenium and intermediate or wing sheet-strips may be pre-glued along lines for bonding before they are cut from the large sheet.

7 There are a number of ways in which pre-gluing of the sheets may be accomplished, but forpurposes of illustration, I show here a heat seal method of adhesively bonding together those portions of the sheets and leaves and covers which are bonded in the effective carrying out of my method. By this method, the sheets processed with heat seal (thermoplastic adhesive) are not. tacky and may be handled rapidly without danger oiincorrect adhesion and with asubstantial reduction in scrap. I apply along the center line 50 on the under side of wing sheet 36 (see Figs. 1, 6 and 7) a one inch strip ofthermoplastic adhesive which will be in position to contact the center line on the top side of cover strip 35. On the underside of the outlying longitudinal margins of wing sheets 36' at 51 and 52, I provideother bandsof thermoplastic adhesive each one-half inch wide. At 53 along the center rline of theunderside of proscenium sheet 37,

top side of itslongitudinal c enter nne; 'And on the underside of both longitudinal side margins of proscenium sheet 37 at 54 and55, I provide a half inch band of thermoplastic adhesive.

' *It will be noted that'when the wirig sheet strip 36 and proscenium sheet strip 37 are folded to form a scene pack as in'Fig. 3, the thermoplastic at 54-55 underlies the abutted margins of wing sheet strip 36 and the thermoplastic at 51- -52 on sheet strip 36 is in position to underlie the center line of the scene pack which is on top of it in the ensemble 46. Or at the top of the ensemble'this thermoplastic 51-52 is in position to underlie the longitudinal center line of cover strip 47. i I

As 'shownat Figs. 4 and 8, the next step'in' my method of making these picture books isthe fastening marginally at 60 on one side of the'ensemble' 46 and at 66 along the other longitudinal edge; The ensemble is then'ready for removal from the assembly boardand from the 'dowels 40 and 41. Obviously the fasteners pass only through the cover material and the leaf material. The pages are not bound in'the backbone.

Heat sealing or thermo treatment of the ensemble 46 is the next step in my method and it is accomplished as shown somewhat diagrammatically at Fig. 5 in the drawings. Here a form of oven 61 includes any form of casing or, oven enclosure 62 and any suitable form of. heating equipment to elevate the temperature within the oven.' At 63 I have indicated diagrammatically a set of heatingelements to indicate an electrical heating method for the oven. My -ensemble 46 is placed'in'the oven and the longitudinally central zone of the ensemble is in position to be placed under pressure by any form of platen" 64 illustrated here as being operated by screw jacks 65. "When the temperature of the thermoplastic 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55 (Fig. 1), has been raised to the activating point of the plastic it becomes tacky or adhesive. At this point pressure is applied to the ensemble. It is then cooled while held under pressure. When the temperature drops below the activating point of the thermoplastic selected, the adhesive is set and the elements of the ensemble are securely bonded together along the lines where the thermoplastic adhesive was applied. The temperature for activating and setting the thermoplastic depends on the nature and type of thermoplastic selected. This bonding step may also be accomplished by the application of high frequency electric currents to the longitudinal center section of an ensemble or stack of ensembles. This procedure speeds this step due to the instant activating-of the adhesive and relatively quick dissipation of the heat below the activating point due to the cooler areas within the ensemble adjacent the activated areas.

It will be realized by those skilled in this art that an adhesive bond along the strips 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, and 55 may be accomplished among other ways by means of drying adhesive applied by rolls or otherwise at the time of assembly, and that relatively slight, even hand pressure, may be used to bring the surfaces into bonded relationship. When this procedure is used all of the ele ments of the entire ensemble are assembled at one time as a unit in place of preassembling the scene pack (Fig. 3) as is the case when a thermoplastic adhesive is used.

After the adhesive bonding operation, a binding or trim tape 73 (Fig. 8) may be applied along the longitudinal edges of the assembly covering the fasteners 60 and 66. I

The ensemble having been bonded adhesively and bound as described, it is then ready for an appropriate severing operation by which the individual picture books are cut therefrom. I prefer to do this by a die cutting operat-ion along lines 70-71 (see Figs. 8 and 13) and along the lines 72 (see Fig. 4). The die cuts along the lines 70--71 cut out a waste strip eliminating any irregularities which are incident to the shaping of the apertures through When the individual books 15 have been severed or cut' from thee'nsemble 46, each maybe opened hingedly along hinge lines that are provided in any of the many ways in which book hinges are made, or the material of the cover sheets 16 and 17 and leaves 21, 22, 23 and 24 merely may be scored for bending hingedly to open the book to the position of the book shown in Fig. 9 or to that shown in Fig. 10.

Since the trim removed between the lines 70 and 71 has left an adequate bond of the. margins of the wing sheet and proscenium sheet, the free edges 25 are sturdy and 'The pages of the book' areof the proper length to dispose the proscenium pages and the intermediate leaves in the proper distance from one another 'when' the scene is opened, it being understood that the proscenium sheet is bonded to the marginal edge of the intermediate or wing sheet and the wing sheet is in turn bonded to the face of other wing sheets or, to the backpins and 81 to be received in Vnotches 8283 in the center of the end edges of the sheet strips 36 and 37 and in the background sheets and cover sheet strips. By this lmean thatthe V notchesare so cut that the apex of the V -is on the longitudinal center line of the strips. The corners of the wing and proscenium sheet strips are clipped as shown at 84 so that when folded in the method step shown in Fig. 3, the edges are abutted throughout their length along the center line of thepack 45.

The wedge pins are sufliciently long to take a complete ensemble 46 in readiness for the operation which provides the fasteners 60 and 66 -(Figs. 4 and 8). The trimming operation involves the removal of only a narrow waste strip along the center line and at each end of the ensemble.

A modification of the method described above with respect to a picture book may be used to form a multiscene display as shown in Fig. 12. Here a backbone is not fastened. The assembly is made up with a proscenium sheet 37 and intermediate or Wing sheets 36. The Widest wing sheets may or may not be cut out and for this assembly serve the purpose of a background as indicated by the character 95. Cover sheets are provided and a single strip of adhesive at 96 and 97 bonds a cover of an individual book to the front face of the background intermediate sheet 95.

Since there is no backbone, the covers when pulled to the position shown in Fig. 12 expose the scenes depicted by proscenium pages 30, wing pages 31 and the pages which are made up of the background sheets 95, the latter in lieu of background leaves.

From the above description, it will be apparent that my method places, assembles, binds and finishes the covers (and background leaves); intermediate sheets (with their side drop features); and the proscenium sheets with a minimum of manual operations and a maximum of accuracy. No portions of the sheets need be extended around the free edges 25, and yet all of the advantages of large scale production on large areas of paper or other suitable material are available for the graphic arts when the sheets are printed; I have found that quantity pro duction of three-dimensional picture books is much more economical following my process and the result is a neat and trim book, extremely acceptable to the ultimate user both mechanically and pictorially.

I claim:

1. The method of making three-dimensional books including the preparation of sheet strips having portrayals thereonforipiosceniumwing and backgrbund pages 'fora multiple of books; pregluing the proscenium and wing sheet stripsalong their under side margins and along a band on the under sides of their center lines; forming a scene pack with the background sheet'stripon one face of the pack, the .wing sheet strip imposed in flat'registry against the background sheet strip, and the proscenium sheet strip in flat registry against the Wing sheet strip; folding the proscenium sheet strip along longitudinal fold lines to bring the side margins thereof into abutment along its longitudinal center line; similarly folding the wing sheet strip to bring its side margins into abutment;

2. The method of making a multiple of three-dimem sional books having background sheets, wing sheets and proscenium sheets which method includes the folding of each of the wing and proscenium'sheets fora multiple of books to bring their respective side edges into abutment, enclosing the folded proscenium sheet within the folded wing sheets and applying them to the background sheet to form a scene pack, bonding the upper surface margins of the said abutted edges to the surfaces against which they lie in the pack, bonding a central band 'alo'ngthe under side of the longitudinal center line of'the wing sheet and proscenium sheet with the surfaces with which they are in contact in the pack, fastening the background sheets along their side margins and'finally separating individual books fror'n the pack along lines of severance including one line parallel with and closely adjacent said abutted side edges.

3. The me'thod of making three-dimensional books -including the preparation of sheet strips having portrayals thereon for proscenium, wing and background pages for a multiple of books; pregluing the proscenium and wing sheet strips along their under side margins and along a band. on the under sides of their center lines; forming ascene pack with the background sheet strip on one face -of the pack, the wing sheet strip imposed in flat registry against the background sheet strip, and the proscenium sheet strip in flat registry against the wing sheet strip; folding the prosceniumsheet strip along longitudinal 'fold lines to 'bring the side margins thereof into abutment along its longitudinal center line; similarly folding the wing sli'eet strip to bring its side margins into abutment; applying 'a background sheet strip upon the scene pack; superposing a multiple of scene packs upon one another to form an ensemble; fastening the side margins of the background sheet strips; activating the glue and then permitting it to cure, and finally severing individual books from the ensemble.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,219,589 Schaefer Mar. 20, 1917 I 1,804,392 Alger et a1. May 12, 1931 1,992,618 Jetfreys Feb. 26, 1935 2,355,737 Krehbiel Aug. 15, 1944 2,524,259 Hildmann Oct. 3, 1950 2,546,878 Townley Mar. 27, 1951 2,577,568 'De Florez et al. Dec. '4, 1951 2,645,795 Pitner July 21, 1953 

